The Unexpected
by Willow Fireheart
Summary: Charles Gunn is happy with his life and his new job at Wolfram and Hart when Gwen Raiden shows up with something that he never could have expected.
1. Chapter 1 Say Hi To Your Dad For Me

**The Unexpected.**

Spoilers- general spoilers for S5, specific spoilers for S4 episode 'Players'.

Disclaimer- None of the characters or settings used in this piece of fiction belong to me, I have simply borrowed them off the Joss-god for a short time and will be returning them in a good condition at a later date.

Notes- Yes, I'm still alive! But just barely, I nearly didn't make it out of the Uni semester alive. But I am now rested, recovered, newly employed, and sick of Christmas cheer.

Note2- This was going to be a one shot, unfortunately my muse either didn't know this or decided to once again ignore it. So I have ideas to continue it, even altered this to fit. Let me know if you would like to see more.

&&&

Charles Gunn, Attorney-At-Law.

Oh yeah, life was good.

Gunn strutted down the corridor towards his office. A wide smirk on his face. That's right, his office, his big-ass window, corner office.

It was good to see a brother getting ahead. Even if it was in the lair of their former adversary. Wolfram and Hart used to the thorn in their side, but now that was all changed. There was no more demonic sacrifices, no more baby eating, no more grave digging or protecting the evil and scaly. All their resources were used to fight the good fight.

And now he had a vital position in the team. He wasn't just the 'muscle' anymore. He was the legal eagle, all thanks to that nifty little implant.

It was strange in some ways. The thrill of winning a difficult case gave him this strange sense of achievement, not as much as slicing and dicing a bunch of bloodsuckers or demons did but it still warmed him in the same way.

From the leader of his own crew to the Head of the actual law component in a prodigious law firm in five years. It had been quite a ride. With both rocky and smooth patches, and although the rocky seemed to out weigh the smooth, it was the smooth that gave him the ability to continue living, so it was the smooth that he was concentrated on now.

Gunn started to sing under his breath. "Three little maids from school are we. Filled to the brim with girlish glee. Three little maids. From school."

There was muffled sniggering.

Gunn looked up, thanking god once again for his dark complexion.

Fred stood outside his office, a large grin lighting up her face.

Gunn smiled sheepishly. "I don't suppose we can pretend I wasn't singing that?"

"If anyone asks it was a rap," Fred's Texan twang sounded thicker as she struggled to keep a straight face.

Gunn smiled thankfully and opened the door to his office, gesturing for Fred to enter first. He followed her in and rested his briefcase on top of his glistening desk. He took off his jacket, throwing it over the back of his chair, and started rolling up his sleeves.

"So, what's up, girl?"

"Huh?" Fred looked up from her perusal of his extensive bookcases filled with heavy tomes concerned with both human and demon law. "What makes you think something is up?"

Gunn shook his head good-naturedly at her. "You've barely been able to tear your self away from that lab since we started here. It's like watching a kid in a candy store."

Fred blushed. "Well, Wesley just moved into his new apartment and I was thinking that we could throw him a house warming party. You know, bring plants and vases, unless you're my Aunt Edna than you bring that tuna casserole that sits at the back of the table and one even digs a serving spoon into."

Gunn smiled affectionately at his ex-girlfriend. "Sure, just tell me when and where."

"Really?" Fred clapped her hands together excitedly. "Charles, that's great! I'll go tell Angel and Spike."

Fred rushed out of the room, nearly knocking over Gunn's secretary in the process. His secretary sniffed disdainfully than continued into the office. She was a part of the old Wolfram and Hart. After the massacre she had been transferred to L.A. from New York. She was still a bit stuck in her ways. She thrust a large stack of folders at him.

"Thank you, Mr. Masterston. That'll be all."

Mrs. Masterston huffed and stomped out. Soon the sound of keys on a keyboard being viciously stabbed rapidly filled the air.

Gunn scowled, she was such a cranky old witch. He shook his head and flopped into his plush leather chair. Making sure he jotted down a note to buy a house-warming gift for Wes, Gunn started in on the paperwork.

It was funny how it didn't seem to bother him any more.

&&&&&

Gunn yawned and stretched. There was just one thing about paperwork; sometimes it seemed to take forever. And sometimes the 'In' pile seemed to grow magically bigger while the 'Out' pile stubbornly refused to grow.

The lights overhead flickered. Gunn growled in the back of his throat. They had been doing that for that last five minutes. There had to be something wrong with the circuit breakers. You'd think that with a building like this they wouldn't skimp on the electrics.

He hit a button on the intercom. "Mrs. Masterston, could you call down to Maintenance, please? Ask them to have a look at the circuit breakers."

Silence answered him.

"Mrs. Masterston?"

Gunn sighed and reluctantly got to his feet. He looked out the door. Mrs. Masterston's desk was empty. He scrubbed a hand over his scalp. Fine, he'd get Harmony to do it instead.

&&&&&

His steps slowed as he reached the lobby. There was a large crowd of security guards surrounding someone. Gunn spotted Wesley and hurried over to the English man.

"Hey, Wes, what's with the security?"

Wesley didn't take his eyes off the guards. "I'm not sure. I heard one of them say that the person was responsible for the electrical problems we've been having."

One of the guards could be heard. "Now, Miss, if you would just-" He moved forward.

"Don't touch me."

The voice was familiar. Something nagged at Gunn's cluttered brain.

There was a pain filled scream. The entire lobby stopped. Someone being detained by security guards, that was an old hat and a boring one too, but screams meant fighting or torture and that meant the good old days for many employees.

"I told you not to touch me."

Gunn tensed as the connections in his mind finally clicked together. "Gwen."

"Charles Gunn?"

The security guards stopped trying to inch closer to her. One turned to Gunn and Wesley. "You know her, sir?"

"Yes, we do," Wesley answered for the both of them. "She's been of assistance on a few previous occasions."

The guard looked uncertain. "She's a known thief, sir."

Gwen snorted. "Don't worry, Sparky. If I was going to steal anything do you think I'd walk into the middle of the lobby and announce my presence?"

She pushed her way carefully through the guards. One leapt back, cursing as a small electrical current ran through his body.

Gwen placed her hands on her hips and looked around at the opulent decorations. "Nice digs you got here. Much better than that old dump you used to work in."

The door to Angel's office opened, Angel had been in a meeting with Fred about Spike's condition. Angel and Fred froze in the doorway, staring at Gwen.

Gwen was dressed in her usual manner, leather pants slung low on her hips, big chunky boots, opera gloves (one off), and a low cut top that showed off her stomach.

Her rather pregnant stomach.

Gunn stared at it, seemly memorized by it. His jaw hung open involuntarily. He looked up at her face, one hand pointed at her stomach. "Is that…? Is it…?"

An amused smirk twisted Gwen's bright red lips. "Yes, Charlie boy, it is."

Gwen rubbed a hand over her swollen stomach. "Congratulations, Charles Gunn, you're going to be a daddy."


	2. Chapter 2 She's Electric!

The Unexpected

Disclaimer- 'Dear, Joss, I'm just borrowing Angel et al. for a little fic. Will return them soon. Willow Fireheart.'  
Note- This chapter explains a few things from the first. Sorry about the lateness, life really is a bitch.  
xxx

Chapter 2

There are moments in a man's life when something truly shocks them. Suddenly eyes are the size of saucers and jaws have dropped so low it looks to the innocent bystander vaguely like a python unhinging its jaws to swallow something whole. There's an expression on the face; the one that spawned the saying about getting hit with a stunned mullet, or perhaps it's the expression of the mullet who has been stunned and then used to hit some poor person with. Getting told by the woman you had a one-night stand with months ago that she's pregnant? Well, that's truly the mother of all shockers, no pun intended.

Gunn stared fixedly at the swollen stomach Gwen had thrust out in his direction.

"What? Wha- What?" He stammered, feeling light-headed. "How?"

A bark of harsh laughter escaped Gwen's crimson lips. "If I remember correctly you know the how. Very well versed in the how, I'd say."

"You're pregnant," Gunn said numbly.

"How observant of you," Gwen quipped dryly.

"With a baby." Gunn's head started to spin and an incredible wave of heat crept over his body.

"No, with a litter of puppies." Gwen's sarcastic tone had an amused tinge to it.

Spike, having sensed the opportunity to create a bit of chaos, sidled up to Gunn and attempted to slap him on the back. Spike's hand went straight through Gunn. Spike scowled, then shook it off and turned back to Gunn, who was starting to sway on his feet. "Congratulations, mate. I didn't think you had it in you."

"Spike, don't!" Angel's voice was sharp and harsh, holding an edge of authority that he hadn't used in many years.

Spike held a hand to his chest, feigning an innocent, offended expression he couldn't quite pull off. "Me? I'm not doing anything. I'm hurt that you would assume that I-"

"Spike," Angel interrupted, grinding his teeth. "Shut it now."

Spike's eye narrowed and his shoulders tensed. He pointed a finger at Angel. "You can't tell me what to do. I'm not your-"

"Charles? Are you feeling all right? You look pale." Fred broke through the argument, staring in concern at the somewhat pale and shaking man.

"How can you tell?" Spike muttered, stung over the abrupt dismissal.

Gunn stared at Fred dumbly. "Wha-? I feel funny."

Gunn fell to his knees, the shaking joints unable to hold him up. His eyes rolled up in his head and he toppled forward, face first, onto the floor.

Several concerned shouts went up. Gwen rolled her eyes, crossed her arms on top of her stomach. Spike's irritability vanished as he looked down at Gunn and chuckled in amusement, taking great delight in the spectacle Gunn was making of himself.

The last thing Gunn heard before the darkness consumed him was Fred and Wesley's frantic 'Charles.' And then there was nothing.

xxxxx

"Now, Fred, we all understand why you're so angry, but-"

"But what, Angel? She's pregnant, not dying." Fred was incredibly angry and it poured off her voice in waves.

Angel held his hands up in front of him defensively. "Fred, why don't you just calm down a little?"

Fred's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Calm down? CALM DOWN?"

Angel winced as her shrill cry assaulted his sensitive eardrums.

Fred waved a pointy finger at him. "Don't you tell me to calm down! That electro-bitch swans back in here-"

"Hey!" Gwen protested from her chair. "It was more of a waddle, and I've never been here before so you can hardly say that I've come back here."

Laid out on Angel's couch Gunn groaned and stirred. "Too loud." He went unnoticed as the two women in the room faced off against each other, both barely conscious of the eyes that track their every move and gesture.

Fred glared at Gwen, grinding her teeth. "Fine. She 'waddles' in here and starts electrocuting our security-"

Angel frowned, something about that was wrong.

"-and she announces, out of the blue, that Charles is the father of her unborn child. How do we even know-"

Gwen tensed in her chair, eyes narrowing, one hand coming to cover her stomach and the other gripping the arm of the chair tightly, her nails leaving impressions in the heavily glazed wood.

"I know who the father of my child is," Gwen snapped. "Contrary to your opinion, I don't sleep around."

Gunn ground the palms of his hands against his temples; even in his not so alert state he knew this wasn't a good sign. Things had the immense possibility to go down hill from here. Gunn drew in a deep breath and held it, quite content to remain unnoticed rather than have the wrath of these two headstrong women bare down on him.

Fred's anger faltered and she looked stunned; her big eyes widening even further and her mouth hanging open. "I didn't- I wasn't- That wasn't what I meant."

Gwen just continued to glare at her. "When I found out I was pregnant I knew exactly who the father was." Gwen pointed a finger at Fred. "You can think and say whatever you want about me, but don't you dare imply or infer anything that might try to sully my child, or that night." Gwen's arms went around her stomach protectively. "That night was very special to me and I won't have you destroy that."

Fred looked taken back, her hand hovering over her throat. "I didn't mean- that wasn't what I was going to say."

Wesley came up behind Fred, rested a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. "We haven't had the best track record with pregnancies."

Angel snorted and muttered under his unnecessary breath. "That's an understatement."

"They tend to be demonic," Wesley continued.

Gwen's mouth dropped open. "My child is not a demon!"

Wesley squirmed under her intense glare. "That's good to know."

Gunn chuckled bitterly, realizing at the last moment that it was a big mistake. A pair of familiar red eyes focused on him.

A corner of Lorne's mouth curled up and he lifted his glass in salute. "I see our Sleeping Beauty has awoken."

Gunn levered himself up, conscious of the stares. "And I see that you've found yourself a sea breeze. Never could figure out where you kept getting them from." He swung his feet onto the floor.

Lorne grinned and tapped his nose. "A good host never reveals their secrets, besides someone has to start celebrating for you, Papa."

Gunn swallowed hard. "Right." His eyes moved to focus on Gwen. "Right." He nodded his head. "Right, so you're…"

"Pregnant, yes." Gwen rolled her eyes, some of her bravado back. "C'mon, Denzel, it's not like you've never seen a pregnant woman before."

Gunn swallowed down the pain, guilt and bitterness that remained from the previous year, now wasn't the time to be thinking about Cordelia. "How far along are you?

"About eight months. What you don't remember?" Gwen asked mockingly.

Gunn's jaw tightened. "Have you been to see a doctor?"

Gwen bristled. "I don't need you questioning me about my child! We don't need you. I don't need your money; I have plenty of my own. If I need help I'll hire a nanny. Coming here today wasn't about you."

Angel crossed his arms across his chest and fixed Gwen with a solid stare. "What was it about then?"

Gwen threw her hands up in disgust and struggled to get out of the chair. Grunting she hauled herself up. "It was about this." Gwen strode over to Angel, striping off one long opera glove and laid a hand directly on Angel's arm.

Angel convulsed as thousands of volts of electricity ran unchecked through his body. He gasped as his dead, shriveled heart was coaxed into giving a few tachy beats and his long dead lungs screamed for oxygen, automatically taking a few gulps of air.

Angel jerked away from her, still breathing heavily even though it was no longer necessary.

Spike stared at them in shock, his eyes darting from Gwen to Angel. He exhaled heavily. "Bloody Hell! That was-" A malicious grin formed on his lips. "That was brilliant! Do it again!"

Fred rolled her eyes at him. "Spike!" The admonishment was far from harsh and Spike just grinned unrepentantly at her and shrugged.

Angel shook his head, trying to uncloud his mind. "That shouldn't have happened."

"No kidding," Gwen said drolly. "That's why I'm here. Something's wrong with L.I.S.A. And I know how Pollyanna here," Gwen gestured to Fred, "likes all that science stuff."

Angel crossed his arms again, still a little embarrassed over the shivering wreck she had reduced him to in such a short amount of time. "And what's the real reason?"

Gwen looked as innocent as she could.

"You've got money, Gwen, as you so kindly pointed out. You've got an array of contacts, quite possibly more than we do, and yet you come to us."

"And here I thought you were you were somewhat intelligent."

Spike snorted.

A smirk curled Gwen's lips. "Stealing L.I.S.A. was a high profile job. I go to someone on my list and I'll be cooling my heels in a military cell faster than you can scowl, pregnant or no."

Angel opened his mouth to protest, but was cut of by Fred.

Scientific curiosity had taken over from the emotional tornado. Fred circled Gwen, her brow furrowed as she thought. "We'll have to take you down to the labs. All my equipment's down there."

Fred prodded Gwen's shoulder lightly, nodding to herself as a small spark zinged and crackled at the touch.

Gwen wisely bit off any retorts and gave a very weak smile, one made all the weaker by glancing at the still, tense and silent Gunn. "Lead away, Polly."

xxxxx

Fred gingerly lifted Gwen's shirt and studied the device threaded into her back, careful not to touch the expanse of bare skin. "Hmmm."

Knox stood before Gwen, running a scanner over her body. His eyes and face were bright with excitement. "This is amazing! I've never seen anything like it before. You're electric. Wow!"

Lorne chuckled.

Gwen sighed and rubbed a hand over her stomach, her back starting to ache from the extra weight. She winced and placed a hand to her back.

Gunn pulled out a stool and placed it down beside her, his jaw still tense and without saying a word.

Gwen smiled gratefully, faltering a bit when Gunn didn't return the smile. She perched carefully on the stool, grateful to at least to be off her feet.

Fred looked up and flushed brightly. "Sorry. My Momma always said I get so wrapped up that I forget my manners."

"I don't care, just figure out what the problem is." Gwen fidgeted on the cold stool, feeling angry and uncomfortable and not really knowing why.

Fred pursed her lips and returned her focus to the small device threaded into Gwen's back. Carefully placing her fingers on the gadget Fred felt the casing, delicate fingers probing the smooth surface, searching for any irregularity. She found it, there was a small patch where the casing was rough, Fred pressed down on it, her muscles tense.

The threads retracted from the skin of Gwen's back quickly and L.I.S.A. disengaged from her back. It would have fallen to the floor and smashed had Fred not placed one hand beneath it and deftly caught it in midair.

"Knox?" Fred asked absently as she examined the casing for damage. "Could you- Knox?"

Knox was stilling talking excitedly to Gwen, so caught up in his ideas that he had barely registered what was happening around him. "This is amazing. I mean the implications of being able to control that much electrical power. Imagine the things you could do." Knox's cheeks were flushed and his eyes were sparkling. Had one Xander Harris been there he would have diagnosed it as a milder form of geeky-er joy.

Gwen yawned blatantly. "Hate to throw a wrench into you clockworks, Buckwheat, but that's the problem. I can't control it."

Knox viably deflated. "Oh… oh, well… we'll try and fix that for ya."

"That's why I'm here."

Knox nodded. "Right, I'll just… help Fred."

Fred looked up at him, the device already lying in pieces on the table in front of her. "Thanks, but I've found the problem, I think."

Knox moved to stand next to her and looked down at the dissembled L.I.S.A. His brow furrowed as he took it in. "Hey! I recognize this. It's a L.I.S.A… aaah, that's a military acronym. It means Localized Ionic-"

"Sensory Activator." Gunn finished, speaking for the first time since Gwen's harsh words.

Knox shifted uncomfortably. "Right, it was developed to be worn by-"

"Black ops." Angel finished, hiding a smirk. That guy just rubbed him the wrong way; his belief that the rest of them weren't aware of Wolfram and Hart's connections within the military wasn't helping his case.

"I believe that it's meant to regulate the wearer's body temperature, their heartbeat and their body chemistry." Wesley completed.

Fred beamed proudly at her friends, her boys.

Gwen laughed suddenly, greatly amused by the show the three men had put on. "I think they already know, Bucky." Gwen cleared her throat. "So, Pollyanna, what's the verdict?" Gwen's bottom lip crept between her teeth and she began to gnaw on it gently.

Fred picked up a pair of tweezers and gently grasped a blackened piece out of the cornucopia of pieces that made up L.I.S.A. "It's this."

"That?" Gwen asked skeptically.

Fred nodded. "Yep, easily fixed, but… Fred paused and bit her lip.

"What?" Gwen asked in a panic, her hand smoothing the material over her stomach reflexively.

Fred put the tweezers and grasped one hand desperately with the other. "I think that the baby-"

Hysteria gripped Gwen's voice. "What about the baby!" Her fingers flexed on her swollen stomach.

Fred's eyes went wide and she reached out to place her hand on Gwen's arm, remembering only at the last minute and quickly pulling her hand back. "Oh, no! There's nothing wrong with the baby."

Gwen looked up at Fred, fear plainly shadowing her eyes. "Really?"

Fred nodded and smiled comfortingly.

Angel sighed. "Fred? An explanation? Any time you're ready."

Fred straightened and cleared her throat, sending an admonishing glare at Angel for being so abrupt. "When a woman is pregnant her body goes through certain changes-"

The men in the room suddenly took a step back, their faces beginning to screw up in expressions of disgust and fear.

Fred rolled her eyes, amazed at the immaturity of them, especially considering that together their ages could be added up to at least half a millennium. "Fine. Basically, I think that the pregnancy elevated the electrical charge that Gwen's body naturally produces. The elevated charge, in turn, short circuited L.I.S.A. Literally fried the circuits."

Gwen looked up at her in alarm. She'd been 'electro-Gwen' all her life, she'd been struck by lightening numerous times, she'd hurt people, and she'd been a thief since she escaped from that school. For eight month's she'd had L.I.S.A. For eight months she'd been able to pretend she was normal, she could leave her room without wearing those long opera gloves, she could dance with other people, hold someone's hand, kiss someone for the first time… Gwen looked at Gunn and a faint blush spread across her cheeks. She wasn't sure she could go back to being that, to that kind of life. Like that, what could she do for her child?

"Gwen? Gwen?" Fred was calling her name softly.

Fred had seen the emotions run across Gwen's face, had seen the veils shadow her eyes. She looked do small, so young, so scared… so vulnerable. And no matter what Gwen had done to them in the past Fred knew she had to help her, her conscious wouldn't let her not.

Gwen shook her hair away from her face and briefly closed her eyes, forcing back the tears that threatened to fall. 'Damn hormones.'

Fred looked her, completely serious and utterly intense. "I can fix it, Gwen."

There was a pause, silence weighing down on them.

"I promise you I can fix it."


	3. Chapter 3 93 per cent

**The Unexpected.**

Spoilers- general spoilers for S5, specific spoilers for S4 episode 'Players'.  
Disclaimer- None of the characters or settings used in this piece of fiction belong to me, I have simply borrowed them off the Joss-god for a short time and will be returning them in a good condition at a later date.  
xxx

**Chapter 3**

Fred clapped her hands together silently. "Okay, standing around here isn't going to get things done. Spike, Doctor Bradley wants to run some tests on you. Knox, I want you to pull up those plans for L.I.S.A. and have them on my desk so I can start the modifications. Hopefully we might be able to find a way to improve it. Wesley, if your secretary has to page you one more time your beeper is going to explode. Lorne, why don't you take Gwen here up to one of the VIP rooms? Angel, I'm sure you have some paperwork to do. And, Charles, I'd like to see you in my office for a second."

Fred turned on her heel and marched up the stairs that lead to her office. Immediately Knox moved to his computer. Wesley pulled out his beeper and cursed under his breath; he gave the others a vague wave and dashed out of the room.

Angel scowled. "I'm supposed to be the boss here." He shoved his hands in his pockets. After a minute he sighed and turned.

"Where are you going?"

"I've got paperwork to do," Angel called back over his shoulder.

Spike smirked. "Whipped."

Fred leaned around her door. "Spike, Doctor Bradley."

Spike opened his mouth to protest, but Fred fixed him with a glare.

"Fine." Spike stomped over to a white coated man. He crossed his arms and glared at the cowering scientist.

Lorne chuckled. He looked to Gwen. "Well, sugar pie, lets see about getting you settled. They have the most glorious suites here. You'll just plutz."

With sad eyes Gunn watched Lorne lead Gwen out of the laboratory. She didn't even look back. Gunn sighed heavily and started up the stairs to Fred's office. For a second, Gunn stopped in the doorway, leaning against the frame and watched his ex-girlfriend riffle through a very thick, and intimidating, file.

Fred glanced up at him, quickly returning her attention to her work. "Come in and shut the door, would you?"

Gunn pushed off the frame. "We gonna need the door shut? Uh oh."

Fred clenched her jaw. "Just shut the door."

A small grin tugged the corners of Gunn's lips. "Yes, ma'am."

Gunn closed the door behind him and pulled out one of Fred's chairs, making himself at home. He rested his feet up on her desk.

"What, the hell, do you think you're doing?" Fred asked him quietly.

"Huh?"

"I may not like Gwen all that much, but you must have-"

Gunn straightened in the chair, his feet sliding back onto the ground. "Oh, nah-uh. I'm not having this conversation." He got to his feet.

"Yes, you are. What's wrong with you? You adore kids. You always told me you wanted a whole passel of 'em. Did you suddenly change your mind?"

Gunn rubbed a hand over his closely cut hair. "Fred, this isn't something I really want to go into with you-"

Fred slammed a hand against the top of her desk. "Dammit, Charles! I don't care. That woman is hurtin' and she's havin' your baby and she's here for help. You're actin' like she's some stray dog that followed you home for supper. This isn't like you, Charles. What's goin' on?"

Gunn sunk back into the chair and rested his head in his hands. "She lied to me."

"By omission. But then, have you tried to get in touch with her?"

Gunn huffed. "No."

"Do you-" Fred swallowed hard. "Do you think this baby isn't yours?"

"No!" Gunn looked up sharply. "We were careful, but Gwen hadn't- she'd never- I don't think she's like that."

"Has something happened, apart from this, to make you dislike Gwen?"

"No."

"Then what's wrong with you?" Fred cried out.

Gunn sagged into the chair with a slump. "If that device hadn't been fried I never would have known. She wouldn't have told me. My flesh and blood would have been out there and I wouldn't- This isn't the way it was supposed to be, Fred. Even a brother from my side of town can dream of a picket fence."

Fred sat on the edge of her desk and laid a small hand on his shoulder. "When have our lives ever gone as planned?"

Gunn chuckled bitterly.

"Do you love her?"

"No."

"Could you?"

"I- I don't know. Maybe. Probably. She isn't always so… prickly. She can be funny, and sweet, and she never made feel like I was less, you know?"

Fred softened. "Charles, we never meant to make you feel-"

Gunn shook his head. "It's not your fault you got that big squishy frontal lobe."

Gun looked up at Fred. "Never even thought I'd have kids, I shoulda died a long time ago. I wanted-"

"Charles, this isn't about what you want anymore. This about what's happening. Gwen's pregnant; you're going to be a dad."

"I missed so much."

"So why are you missing more? Stop being such an ass and make up for it. You do want to be a part of this child's life, don't you?"

"Of course!"

Fred expression became determined. "Then you should talk to Gwen. Everyone should know their parents, you told me that."

Slow smile spread across Gunn's face. "You're right, as usual." The smile fell from his face. "What if I can't?"

Fred frowned. When couldn't Charles talk?

Gunn ran a hand over his head. "I mean, I like her, a lot, but that doesn't mean that we'll work as a couple."

Fred sighed. Men, they always jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"I'm not saying sweep Gwen off her feet and marry her. Just get to know her, be her friend; be civil at the very least. For the baby's sake. Look, I'm organizing Wes's house warming party for Saturday. Why don't you invite her?"

xxxxx

Gunn stood outside the room Lorne had picked out for Gwen. It turned out Wolfram and Hart had rooms prepared for all sorts of creatures, they even had one that contained absolutely no conductive materials.

He raised a hand to knock. The hand stopped an inch away from the door. Gunn drew in a deep breath.

"Just do it, man," he muttered to himself. "Suck it up."

Decisively, Gunn knocked rapidly on the door and then stood fidgeting as he listened to the bumps and noises of a person moving around.

The door was pulled open. Gwen's eyes widened. She tugged self consciously on her overly large sweat shirt and worn plaid pj pants.

Gunn rubbed his hands together. "Hey, um, can I come in?"

xxxxx

Gunn stretched out his neck, the back of his head rubbing against the blanket covering the bed. "So, we okay?"

Gwen propped her head up, one hand rubbing soothing circles on her sweatshirt clad stomach. She pulled her legs up, her knees brushing against Gunn. "Are we?"

"I hope. I want be there."

Gwen smirked. "You're just one big softie."

Gunn squirmed. "You know," he said, trying to change the subject, "for a place that can afford to have their own dungeon, their chairs leave a lot to be desired."

"Why do you think we're on the bed?"

"My chair is way better than these. Less lumpy too. I'll get my secretary to find some other chairs for you."

Gwen scowled. "I don't need you to look after me."

"Gwen, please. Do you want to spend all your time in bed?"

"No."

"Then my secretary will find some comfortable chairs for you."

"Gunn-"

"They're chairs, Gwen, not your life. I'm not asking you to marry me."

"I wouldn't accept anyway."

"Why are you being so prickly?"

Gwen's eyes narrowed. "You got me pregnant!"

"You were there too. It's not my fault condoms are only 98 per cent effective." Gunn sighed. "I thought you were happy about this."

"I am," Gwen admitted, settling down. "So, 98 per cent huh?"

"Apparently."

"Now you tell me."

xxxxx

Gunn started as he felt something drop onto his chest. He picked it up. "What's this?"

"It's a photo of the baby," Gwen told him, attempting to be casual. "You can keep it if you want. I have more copies at home."

Gunn stared at the picture, turning it around to view it from several angles. "This is our child?"

"I could have sworn I just said that."

"Are you sure that's a baby?" Gunn asked. "It looks more like an alien."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "I had forgotten how funny you think you are."

"Hey, I am funny, smooth, smart and handsome."

"And oh so modest."

Gunn grinned. "You know it." His grin faded and he plucked uncertainly at the bedcovers. "So, ah, Fred's throwing this house warming thing for Wes on the weekend. Do you wanna go?"

"With you?"

"Well, Fred's got her eye on Wes, so I suppose you'll be stuck with me. It's a just friends thing so there won't be all that many people from here."

"Friends? Are we friends?"

"I'd like us to be."

Gwen looked thrown. "All right then."

xxxxx

The phone was lifted carefully out of its cradle.

"It's me. Yeah, she's here. No, the device is still malfunctioning. Winifred Burkle is looking into modifying it."

There was a low silky chuckle.

"I told you those recording devices would come in handy. We'll wait for the new L.I.S.A. before we attempt to retrieve her."

There were a few moments of silence.

"I know we only need the baby!" The echo in the empty room caused a wince. "I know that. All right, we'll wait, but only until the baby is born. Then the child will belong to us."

xxx

end chapter.

I'd be really interested to see who you think the plotting person is.


End file.
